This is the party that started me on the path to my second job in children’s party planning. Last year, for Meg and Grace’s sixth birthday, they asked for a fairy party. I just couldn’t go the Disney route but discovered instead Cicely Mary Barker’s classic fairy illustrations and the girls were just as happy to go in a more original direction. They have a February birthday, so our party was indoors. (You can see it here.)

I knew when I started this Party Plan and Party Kit business that this party was high on the list to recreate with professional photography. Then, I was hired by a great mom of four to create a Custom Party Plan for her daughter Violet’s first birthday. We ultimately chose a flower fairy theme, with a focus on violets and purple tones. And that bumped this flower fairy party recreation to the top of my list. Since little Violet’s celebration will be in her backyard, I styled this as an outdoor shoot.

I am so fortunate to live near a delightful antiques and art shop — Linden European Gardens. It’s one of my go-to places for gifts. Owner Laurie maintains such a lovely garden out back and I knew it would be a terrific space for our event. Laurie and her team are so great to work with and if you are in the Woodstock area, I’d definitely consider her garden for party rentals.

Decorations

On the garden gate I hung this printable I had made by Xreations. The frame is from my friend Juliette’s shop, Quite a Pair Keepsakes.

The concept of the party was that if the girls believed in fairies, “magical” things would happen throughout the party. All these girls are around 7-and-a-half and they all still believe in fairies, so this was a blast to watch!

We had six stations in the garden: fairy costumes, dessert table, dining table, fairy story bower, photo area, and crafting table.

On the dessert table and the dining table, I used a sheer, ruffled shower curtain for a light, airy feel. I accessorized with white and purple plates. Around the dining table, each chair also featured a letter with the guest’s first initial. (Cute and it prevents jockeying for the “best” seat.)

This was my first time using mason jars (big hit) and paper straws (they held up wonderfully). I just finished off the jars with some purple twine and added “fairy nectar” (blackberry grape juice).

On each chair, our guests found a pom wand from Titi’s Tutus. Once the girls found these, they did not let them go!

In the center of the table, I included a sample of a fairy house under a cloche. I think it always helps the kids to have a finished example of their craft activity.

Over the dessert table, I was so lucky to be able to use the frame that Linden already had attached to the wall. I just added this adorable fairy doll from Riley Construction and it completed our backdrop.

Activities

The first order of business was to let the girls choose their costumes. I designated Grace as the photo shoot birthday girl, and so she wore a purple fairy costume, while the other girls wore lavender. Each girl had a tutu and pettipants, plus wings. Little Boo Creations made us coordinating fairy halos, which the girls adored!

Then, we settled down in the fairy bower that I made with the most incredible pop-up book version of Cicely Mary Barker’s How to Find Flower Fairies. I didn’t actually read the book, but explained that Cicely was a special friend of the fairies who allowed her to see them. I asked the girls to spot the fairies on each page. At the end, I asked them if they believed in fairies and all their hands shot up!

Next up was a fairy scavenger hunt. I gave the girls their first clue and then they had to find each of the next clues. I hid these in Linden’s garden before the party. It was fun making up the little rhymes for each clue. The hunt eventually led the girls to pixie dust necklaces — much excitement! (See the tutorial for the washi tape boxes here.)

We took a break to enjoy some treats, and then made fairy houses. It was so interesting to observe that when the girls were six, they needed more hands-on help with this project, but at seven, they were totally independent. One of my girls put leaves and feathers inside the house “so my fairy can decorate it how she wants.” Love that! We sprinkled each house with pixie dust as it was completed.

Each girl had her photo made in front of a tree that I decorated with tulle poms from Titi’s Tutus.

We painted faces in a whimsical fairy style. You don’t have to be an artist for face painting; give it a whirl – it’s fun and your daughter will love practicing before the party!

And finally, the girls made up their own fairy circle dance and made fairy wishes with their bubbles.

Dessert Table

This was one of my favorite dessert tables to create. I love the combination of purple transferware, white china and crystal with the ruffled tablecloth.

The centerpiece of the dessert table was this cake from Scrumdiddlyumptious Bakery. The cake was inspired by this cake from Pink Cake Box that I found last year.

I tried to keep all the other food fairy-sized. We also had brownie bites with purple flower toppers from Cupcakes by Christy, mini vanilla cupcakes with toppers from Edible Details, toadstool cookies from Cookie Xchange, Pixie Stix (of course), raspberries with white chocolate chips (idea from Sasha Libby) and strawberry marshmallow skewers.

We had the most beautiful cake pops from Cake Pops by Jen, but our garden lost two trees right before the party and was sunnier than expected, so the poor little cake pops didn’t survive long. Lesson learned!

Our violet lollipops were made by Etsy seller Mihow, based on the original tutorial by Sprinkle Bakes.

I love the little wooden food label holders from Monkeys on the Roof. It was fun making up all the fairy-related names for the food labels, like “Sprite Cakes”.

I hope you like our flower fairy party. Please visit our shop for the Flower Fairy Party Plan (60+ pages of how-tos for just $19!) and Flower Fairy Party Kit.

Vendor Credits

Party created and styled by Double the Fun Parties

Photography: Viridian Images Photography

Party printables: Xreations

Cake: Scrumdiddlyumptious Bakery

Cake pops:  Cake Pops by Jen

Purple royal icing toppers: Cupcakes by Christy

Violet and fairy wing cupcake toppers: Edible Details

Toadstool cookies: Cookie Xchange

Violet lollipop original idea: Sprinkle Bakes

Violet lollipops: Mihow

Fairy halos: Little Boo Creations

Tulle fairy wands and large poms: Titi’s Tutus

Fairy doll: Riley Construction

Wood food label holders: Monkeys on the Roof

Purple twine and striped straws: The Party Fairy

Frame: Quite a Pair Keepsakes